Malays ’have right to Malaysia’
Finance24, South Africa
Malays ’have right to Malaysia’
14 August 2006
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) Malaysia on Monday said it would issue a "big fat no" to any nation or group that asked it to dismantle a system of positive discrimination for its majority ethnic Malays as part of trade talks.
Malaysia and the United States are currently negotiating a free trade pact which will touch on the sensitive area of Malaysian government procurement which sees lucrative contracts awarded to Malays, known as bumiputera.
But Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz said Washington understood Malaysia’s need to retain its policies favouring Malays, who make up 60% of the population in this multicultural nation, and asserted it was the country’s sovereign right to do so.
"If government procurement in transparency is what is required, no problem. But if anybody, the US or anybody, wants to impinge upon our rights to put forward or to implement a particular type of policy, that’s no go," she told reporters.
"If anybody tells us we would like for you to change your policy, the answer is a big fat no," she added.
Malaysia and the US launched negotiations in June for a free trade agreement, which the Bush administration is aiming to sign by mid-2007.
Foreign businesses have complained about transparency in Malaysian tendering processes and the lack of procurement opportunities, partly due to the affirmative action policies to help Malays boost their share of equity.
But Rafidah brushed aside the complaints, saying the businesses were free to compete for tenders issued internationally.
"They can argue til the cows come home because we have our own internal policies, which is based on a socio-economic development premise," she said.
The two nations completed a second round of talks in Washington in July, and Rafidah said progress had been "very good", with officials now examining sectors and areas for negotiation.
Washington is trying to fast-track the negotiations and pass the deal well before June next year, when Congress will regain the right to amend any trade pact, but Rafidah said Malaysia would not be pushed into a timetable.
"We’ll take our pace. It’s the US who has got a deadline. If they have got a deadline, that’s their problem," she said.
A third round of talks is due in Malaysia in September.
